We got a chance to watch the finals from a lift about 30 feet above the crowd. Great view... you can really see the boats and how they line up. Wish I had a better camera with me. At times, you're high enough you can see through some of the roostertails, but it's still tough to tell who's in there. At one point, you could only see three of the six boats on the race course because everyone else was stuck in a roostertail. Interesting perspective to watch the race. As we've reported, Villwock took the lead on the second lap and ran away with the race.

After the win, Villwock said "Erick (Ellstrom) told me to get out there in free water and let it fly. Get some big speed." The team had to tear the gear box apart before the final. Why? "Because they wanted to win," Villwock said. Owner/crew chief Erick Ellstrom said "The Tri-Cities is always good to us. Just a great day."

KNDU's Scott Reister asked him... with four wins in a row... can you dynasty now? Ellstrom: "No."

Dave Bartush said about crew chief Curt Tavnner "credit him with everything." The U-13 crew did an amazing job to get that boat back on the water. They almost missed the one minute gun, but got the boat in the water and went on to grab a second place and 300 points.

J. Michael Kelly, U13, and Steve David, U6, walk up the gangplank together after congratulating each other on the race.

There was some smoke from the U6 on the backstretch. David said it's a little bit of oil gets into a hot gear box, "no big deal"

U-13 crew looked a little worried as they're working on the boat getting ready for the heat, but they say they have the steering problem fixed and they will be ready for the next heat. They are getting it on the water now.

Just an aside... Jimmy Shane has to be one of the happiest guys I've ever met. Always smiling and joking around. When he says he's excited to be here doing this, he really means it. And he appreciates the support from Ted Porter and the FormulaBoats team.

U-1 & U-5 running OK. Jimmy Shane not happy he's running 5 seconds back being a rookie, but things happen so you never know.

U-9 Chris Bertram says they don't have the horsepower this weekend. "We'll put on a good show," he said and see what happens.

U-25 Dr. Ken says this boat handles better and is faster than the hull he raced last year.

U-21 gear box is still running hot, so they'll hold back a little and wait to get in the water. They didn't run in practice runs Sun. morning. They will wait until the last minute before the 5 minute gun to move out to try to reduce heat time on the gear box.

U-37 Billy Schumacher said they're racing to get into the finals. "No sense pushing it now," he said. THey're matched up against Villwock in Heat 2A.

U-10 team is now officially the Hoss Mortgage for the weekend. After each heat, the team pulls the prop off, put chemicals on it and then take it in under the black light to check for cracks.

At the race in Madison, they lost a blade, and took off a gear box and part of the bottom - cost them about $100,000 and forced them to miss Detroit, said co-crew chief Adam Gregory. So finding cracks early is a big deal. Rather lose a prop, then lose $100,000. Props run between $10,000 and $16,000.

U-21's Brian Perkins got a couple of laps in, including one topping 140.

Question to Kevin Aylesworth: "Nervous at all about a young driver in a new boat?"Answer: "We got a million dollar boat and we're putting a young kid in it. What do you think?" He said it with a smile and a laugh.

The temp in the suit and cockpit is about 25 degrees hotter than ambient temperature. So when the temps close to 100 degrees, it can be draining. I asked Dave Bartush if that's why J. Michael Kelly in the U-13 is so thin, Dave said: "No, it's because we don't feed him." Another crew member said "no win, no eat." Tough program!

Jimmy Shane has his first three laps towards qualifying as a driver. Top lap 141+When I was talking to Jimmy Shane on Friday, people kept coming up asking how he was doing. His response every time was "I'm so excited." Excited to be here and to get this opportunity. Boats now qualified.

U1 has some "electrical gremlins," said Mike Allen. "Hasn't been on the water in two years. We'll be OK." That's the replacement hull taking over the old Budweiser T-6 hull that got banged up in Detroit when Allen flipped. Crew says they want to have the original hull ready to go by San Diego. Allen says "or Seattle." Mike says he's not cleared by the doctors to race, but if they clear him and the boat's ready, it's going to be tough to keep him out of the cockpit.

Nobody's talking much about what's going on with the U-5. Never got on the water Friday. Activity all around all day.

U-3 guys have had some tough luck this year. When they've run, they've run fast. But they have had trouble keeping the engines running. It happened during qualifying today when they went dead... and then a minute before the Dash for Cash, they went dead in the water. I've only seen three of the Allison engines, but rumor is they brought six with them.

Interesting tidbit from reporter Jenn Bates....Driver David Bryant designed his own seat in the cockpit. He's an upholesterer. It's got memory foam. His claim to fame is he did the upholestery for both Pres. Clinton and Pres. Bush's seat in the Presidential helicopter.

UPDATE on the U-17 Our Gang Racing. Crew pulled an all-nighter. Will they make the Tri-Cities? Goal was to be on the road late this afternoon, get to the park Fri night and work until it's ready. If it's here, it will squeeze in between the Ellstrom U-16 and the KNDU anchor platform so we'll know. If it gets here, it's still iffy whether it can actually run or not. They may bring it for show and then continue to work on it in TC to be ready for Seafair. Stay tuned.

OK, I just watched the U37 on board video. Nobody complain that a couple of birds/ducks got crushed by the boat. You can see it happen if you watch. I don't want to hear that controversy start again. Wouldn't you think they'd hear this huge boat coming and get out of the way?!?

Dr. Ken on potential new race sites... still working... been working on Washington DC for close to two years - lots to coordinate with homeland security, airspace, etc. Lots of agencies to work through. Still looking at a return to Nashville, south Florida. "They're all potentials until something happens." He said it just takes time.

Tail mounted camera video from U-13's Friday morning qualifying ride in now posted at HydroInsider.com... pretty cool stuff... Look in the flash video player on the right hand side of the page.Thanks NWSPEEDSHOTS.COM

David Williams on U-48: The boat once did a race with a 169mph lap. It's set up now to doabout 140.

Jeff Bernard, U-5: "It's been a rough year." On the U-1 backup hull: "It's an older boat, like the U-48, but it's got some power." It's a little tougher to push through the turns; you need a lot of upper body strength to hold the wheel. Jimmy Shane, driver of the backup says he'll get qualified. He said he is "really, really excited" to get out there.

Mike Allen, aboard a Formula Boat cruiser on the course at 9am this morning, comparing the ride to his flip in Detroit: "Lot smoother than last weekend."

Bill Osbourne with the U-37 team told me the prop they lost last year in the Columbia River... which was found by Bill Moore after 12 dives... is good and may run on the boat's first setup Friday morning.

We had a chance to interview Dave Villwock at length Thursday. Comments on the importance of experience, closing in on the career win record, Chip Hanauer and Bill Muncey, and the fans who dislike him. Watch the videos at HydroInsider.com >>

Friday morning before testing, we'll be taking a ride around the course with U-1's Mike Allen. He'll show us trouble spots and get us caught up on his recovery.